The Great Limerick Run, 2 May 2010

--amadeus-- · 02-05-2010 08:39PM

The 10k thing is a bit disappointing. I supose something had to give with so many events and I'd rather the 10k was out than the marathon. In defense of the organisers the "fun run" comment was at the end of a very long day and to the pacers rather than in public and so may not be reflective of teh real attitude of the organsiers. And if we feedback constructivley to them they strike me as a group who will listen and make the changes so there is no reason the 10k won't be right next year. Very annoying for those that ran it though.

From where I was at (suffering round the half course) things were better than I had hoped. Minor tweaks needed on teh course (pinch points around the Hunt museum for example) but signifigantly better than I had expected or hoped.

I will be doing a "project washdown" email to the race director with a list of things that worked and things that could be improved so if you post stuff in here I will include it.

Brianderunner · 02-05-2010 09:20PM

--amadeus-- wrote: »

I will be doing a "project washdown" email to the race director with a list of things that worked and things that could be improved so if you post stuff in here I will include it.

2 things i would put in the email.

1) Make the course wider, too many near misses today with bollards and slower runners, especially given the inevitability that there will be more runners next year.

2) The humpback bridge is unnecessary, the wheelchair ramps and steps interrupted your rhythm and was a serious choke point, direct it over bridge street instead.

willbee · 02-05-2010 09:31PM

Well done Limerick on a great day, very enjoyable. I was a little apprehensive after reading the posts about the organisation over the last couple of days but I thought it went off well. Marshals, Gardai, Water station people and organisers deserve alot of praise.
Thanks to the local businesses for supplying extra water stops near the finish and all the fantastic support throughout the whole course. I did the full and came in at 3.21 and probably would have been slower only for the local support:). Well done all.

gombeen99 · 02-05-2010 11:48PM

Well done everyone, everything seemed to go off ok, apart from the very cold rain shower 15 min before the start of the half!! Loads of water stops, good crowds especially around town, nice scenic route (for the 2nd half of the half) and the brass band towards the end were brilliant.

On the negative side, I did the half and didn't see any mile or km markings specifically for those runners. There were clear mile markers for the marathon, and with a bit of maths, you could work it out, but tisn't too easy to be subtracting 13.1 from 22 to get the distance travelled for the half runners, if you see what I mean. Also, as previously mentioned, it was a bit annoying & sometimes difficult overtaking slower marathon runners (through no fault of their own of course), and must have been very disheartening for them. Lastly, I expected way more involvement by Spin radio, a named sponsor - they surely could have had music blaring at the start and a few points along the route to help build more of a party atmosphere.

Thanks to all the marshalls, pacers, water people, Gardai, volunteers and all involved, roll on next year.

hunnymonster · 03-05-2010 05:38AM

I enjoyed it, particularly meeting the boardies afterwards (was this the biggest group of boards ac to run outside Dublin to date?)

I wasn't pacing so I was running along and for runners like me the course was really good. The biggest improvement I could suggest would be in routing. It was quite difficult to pick out the best race line.

ligind · 03-05-2010 07:23AM

I have been following this thread for the few last weeks, ran my first ever 10k yesterday (or did i), I have to say the whole thing was a bit of a shambles I had to stop in a few places because it was so congested, the hump back bridge was one obvious place.

RacoonQueen · 03-05-2010 07:46AM

The route could do with a few little tweaks but it was the first year of this event and for the most part it went smoothly. There were problems with the 10k and hopefully they can be ironed out next year.

Talking to one of the staff in my hotel and he said some guy was moaning about the lack of water stations and water being in cups. Seriously, some people expect too much. Water stations were every 5k...and then there were a load of extra stations provided by residents and businesses. During the half route there were anyway.

ligind · 03-05-2010 08:02AM

RacoonQueen wrote: »

The route could do with a few little tweaks but it was the first year of this event and for the most part it went smoothly. There were problems with the 10k and hopefully they can be ironed out next year.

Talking to one of the staff in my hotel and he said some guy was moaning about the lack of water stations and water being in cups. Seriously, some people expect too much. Water stations were every 5k...and then there were a load of extra stations provided by residents and businesses. During the half route there were anyway.

The route could use more than a few tweaks,a lot of it was too narrow, for the 10k both lanes of the roads should have been used, a lot of people ended up on the paths which lead to some near misses with pedestrians.

Miss Piggy1 · 03-05-2010 10:22AM

MarieC wrote: »

Didnt have to resort to the water cups - had the b.f on hand for that! He cycled the entire route to keep me (and anyone else looking dehydrated) stocked with water, gels and sweets).

MarieC,
Think I finished about 2 mins behind you and I have to say a big THANK YOU to your b.f, everytime he stopped to give you water / jellies he gave me some too and was full of encouragement, it was brillant really gave me a boost to keep going. Meant to look for you afterwards but got caught up in the excitement and relief of finishing. Well done on your time & thanks again.

rok · 03-05-2010 11:06AM

gombeen99 wrote: »

On the negative side, I did the half and didn't see any mile or km markings specifically for those runners.
........
Thanks to all the marshalls, pacers, water people, Gardai, volunteers and all involved, roll on next year.

Agreed! I also did the half and was very disappointed with the lack of mile markers.
http://www.greatlimerickrun.com/faq.html had said "There will be mile markers along the course at every mile, and kilometre markers every 5 kilometers." Can't believe it would have taken Great Limerick Run too much of an effort to get the few mile marker posters printed.

My friends doing the 10k (or 9.4k, bit of a farce!) complained that the water stations at Thomond Park and the finish line had run out of water.

Running out the Ennis Road and coming up against runners a few miles ahead was a bit disheartening

Positioning of the end line was a bit of an anti climax, turn the corner and there it was. Would have been nicer to be able to see it from further off and maybe in an area more suited for supporters to line the streets for the last few hundred metres or so like at other races I've been at.

Hopefully Great Limerick Run will improve on these few points for next year.

Overall great event for the city, nice route, and great support from the marshalls, volunteers, water people, Gardai etc

p.s. What do we do with the Timing chips? Stewards at the end of race did not know where they should be returned to.

Oisin11178 · 03-05-2010 11:35AM

rok wrote: »

Agreed! I also did the half and was very disappointed with the lack of mile markers.
http://www.greatlimerickrun.com/faq.html had said "There will be mile markers along the course at every mile, and kilometre markers every 5 kilometers." Can't believe it would have taken Great Limerick Run too much of an effort to get the few mile marker posters printed.

My friends doing the 10k (or 9.4k, bit of a farce!) complained that the water stations at Thomond Park and the finish line had run out of water.

Running out the Ennis Road and coming up against runners a few miles ahead was a bit disheartening

Positioning of the end line was a bit of an anti climax, turn the corner and there it was. Would have been nicer to be able to see it from further off and maybe in an area more suited for supporters to line the streets for the last few hundred metres or so like at other races I've been at.

Hopefully Great Limerick Run will improve on these few points for next year.

Overall great event for the city, nice route, and great support from the marshalls, volunteers, water people, Gardai etc

p.s. What do we do with the Timing chips? Stewards at the end of race did not know where they should be returned to.

They are disposable apparently. Keep it as a momento:-)

ligind · 03-05-2010 12:05PM

I sent mail this morning to GLR asking for a refund on the grounds that I would not have entered the 10k if I knew beforehand it was about 9.4k. I would have entered the Jacinta O'Brien 10k last w/e instead. I dont see much point in supplying a timing chip but not having the distance correct.

RacoonQueen · 03-05-2010 12:30PM

ligind wrote: »

The route could use more than a few tweaks,a lot of it was too narrow, for the 10k both lanes of the roads should have been used, a lot of people ended up on the paths which lead to some near misses with pedestrians.

I agree that it was too narrow in places, jumping up on paths during the race wasn't ideal either(I had a pacee hold my balloons going through a gateway just so I wouldn't lose them and so she wouldn't lose something to watch). That's for next year though, I've heard a lot of positive feedback. You can not expect an event the size of this one to be 100% in it's first year, nearly every event will have it's good points and it's bad. I think all the pacers were a bit put off at the attitude towards the 10k and we all made similar comments on the narrow paths etc after the race.. but thats for next year.

Email the organisers and let them know what you think it's the only way they can improve for next year.

metamorphosis · 03-05-2010 12:35PM

Just by arthurs quay park - around mile 20ish or so i believe, by the river there i saw people jumping down the steps, when they could have ran around steps and i just though ' man they're gonna pay for that later'.

menoscemo · 03-05-2010 12:50PM

ligind wrote: »

I sent mail this morning to GLR asking for a refund on the grounds that I would not have entered the 10k if I knew beforehand it was about 9.4k. I would have entered the Jacinta O'Brien 10k last w/e instead.

Fair play, and you are completely entitled to the refund IMO. Something similar happened in the aware 10k just before christmas when the course tuened out to be 8.9km. They offered refunds after complaints but given that they are a charity in need of the funds I don't believe too many people took it. I would have no hesitation taking the money of a profit making company like this though.

donothoponpop · 03-05-2010 01:15PM

If the 10k had have been the correct distance, I would have thought the whole event near perfect for a first year. There was a real buzz in Limerick about the run, and lots of supporters along the route. Plenty of water stations, and great to see lots of locals setting up their own stalls.

A lot of the problems can be put down to logistics- when sharing the half and marathon routes, a decision has to be made to maintain marathon mile markers, or put up two sets of markers, and its hard to tell what is the best method. The congestion is something caused by trying to squeeze so many races into a limited time span of closed roads, although the route could avoid a few bottlenecks in a couple of spots. I loved the marathon course, thought it took in all of what Limerick a great city.

Overall I thought it was a huge success, especially so for it being the first year. I'd imagine next year a lot of lessons will have been learned, and I'm sure the organizers will put on a smoother event all round, but yesterday's runs certainly showed off Limerick in a great light.

baza1976 · 03-05-2010 01:25PM

Had a good day yesterday.

I had a bad week with been sick the mornign of the marathon I had to force down 2 slices of toast as I didn't feel hungry. I took a banana with me to the marathon and threw it away around the 10k mark I think.

I met HM and was chatting for the first mile(ish) before she told me to go away!!!! lol

Then i caught up with maire c. Sorry about the chatting mc and my spitting!!!! my sinus were full of gunk. I think I lost more fluid form spitting than sweating!!!

Twas very funny at about mile 17/18 the leading car for the half marathon passed me. There was a guy about 10 feet in front of me who looked around and saw me. I laughed and told him that car is not for me

I crusied the first 20/21 miles (2.30ish i think) and then my calfs decided they were not going to work any more BUt I didn't push them, I just slowed down a bit. I treated myself and my calfs at Thomond park hill to a little walk and off again we went.

I got home in 3.39, I'm very happy with that.

It was nice to meet some boardsies and put the face to the name.

It was also very good to see a great day in Limerick. Looking forward to next year already

Krusty_Clown · 03-05-2010 01:31PM

Some fab pictures from the race (mostly full marathon, half marathon). I thought the half and full were very well run, with some manageable minor improvements that could be made for future years. It has certainly created a very good impression of Limerick for me.

gmurran · 03-05-2010 02:02PM

Allot of disappointed people looking for a PB on a flat course last night in the 10K.

The congestion was a big problem for 10K runners as was the lack of competitive runners. It wasn't clear before hand that the 10K was a fun run with poor stewarding, organisation and route planning. Cant say I will be back next year the 10K course was a bit of a joke. I've never experienced anything quite like it.

Slogger Jogger · 03-05-2010 02:18PM

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Some fab pictures from the race (mostly full marathon, half marathon). I thought the half and full were very well run, with some manageable minor improvements that could be made for future years. It has certainly created a very good impression of Limerick for me.

Thanks KC. Great pics alright. A few boardsie pics in there too.

shg101 · 03-05-2010 02:36PM

menoscemo wrote: »

Fair play, and you are completely entitled to the refund IMO. Something similar happened in the aware 10k just before christmas when the course tuened out to be 8.9km. They offered refunds after complaints but given that they are a charity in need of the funds I don't believe too many people took it. I would have no hesitation taking the money of a profit making company like this though.

I have not been following this at all, but are they a charity? Hard to make out from the website. There is an inconspicuous "charities" link there, but it doesn't look like they are being directly supported.

Krusty_Clown · 03-05-2010 02:41PM

gmurran wrote: »

Allot of disappointed people looking for a PB on a flat course last night in the 10K.

The congestion was a big problem for 10K runners as was the lack of competitive runners. It wasn't clear before hand that the 10K was a fun run with poor stewarding, organisation and route planning. Cant say I will be back next year the 10K course was a bit of a joke. I've never experienced anything quite like it.

As one of the other pacers was saying, having three different races start from the same point, and finish at the same point is a remarkable achievement. Obviously this came at a price, and the area that had to give was the 10k. My perception is that the marathon and half marathons are their serious races (Jones counter measured, AAI permits), however, the 10k is less serious. Next year they need to to make sure the have approximately the right distance, and publicize it as a fun-run. The non-serious runners seem to have loved the experience, so they managed to get it right for their target audience, they just didn't communicate who their target audience were.

Blazer · 03-05-2010 02:46PM

Had my nano with me for the Nike+ and it was telling me about 9.4km at the finish line..ran the extra .6 to bring it upto 10k

but I still think it was out by more.
Normally with 10km I find the nano will give me back about 10.6km with the dodging from side to side etc. I suspect the 10k was even less than 9k but maybe I'm wrong?

Krusty_Clown · 03-05-2010 02:46PM

shg101 wrote: »

I have not been following this at all, but are they a charity? Hard to make out from the website. There is an inconspicuous "charities" link there, but it doesn't look like they are being directly supported.

Nope. If I'm not mistaken, it's a 'for profit' private company. Usually, if you sign up for a charity, the charity will send you out a t-shirt and a sponsorship card. It seems to be just an affiliation, rather than any form of agreement to distribute any funds.

DeeMcH · 03-05-2010 02:47PM

Completed the Half Marathon yesterday and delighted with the time (I think!). Certainly a personal best from me I believe. Very much enjoyed the race and thought the course was lovely. But a couple of annoying things though:

1. When I went to pick up my race number it couldnt be found so I went got another number. No hassle I thought. However, got the text yesterday for the 10K not the half marathon I had completed. Emailed them yesterday (and rang) to ask for the proper time which I hope and pray they have. Not too surprised really cause the guy only scribbled down a few things when he gave me the new number. I should have double checked at that stage. It may not be a big issue to them but I will be absolutely gutted if I cant get an actual time.

2. When I crossed the line all I could see was the marathon clock. I never noticed the half marathon clock which was over to the right so basically no idea how I did except for timing based on the full marathon clock. Anyway, I am guesstimating that it is a PB for me of at least 10 mins (which is why the actual time is so important to me). Now not saying that they should have put the half clock more prominent but they could at least have let us know where it was going to be.

3. Half marathon mile markers should have been out.

4. Wandered around for ages at the finish wondering what to do with the timing chip. Again they might have let us know what to do with it.

5. Routing coming on to the Ennis Road was a bit disheartening. Was fine for me but I really felt for the full marathon people who were so close but still with 3 miles to go.

Finally I thought the crowd were lovely especially all teh people out handing out sweets! Also I found myself in with the sub 4 hour marathon people and I thought the pacers were so great!!! Really inspiring.

Condo131 · 03-05-2010 02:50PM

shg101 wrote: »

I have not been following this at all, but are they a charity? Hard to make out from the website. There is an inconspicuous "charities" link there, but it doesn't look like they are being directly supported.

No its not a registered charity, its a limited company.

Organiser| Company Reg No| Status
GREAT LIMERICK RUN LIMITED| 406149| PRIVATE LIMITED BY SHARES

RacoonQueen · 03-05-2010 02:52PM

shg101 wrote: »

I have not been following this at all, but are they a charity? Hard to make out from the website. There is an inconspicuous "charities" link there, but it doesn't look like they are being directly supported.

He was talking about the aware 10k being a charity run.

OdettiSpaghetti · 03-05-2010 03:10PM

Hi,

Does anyone know who the 4.30 pacers were? I would like to give them a big hug and a thank you. I finished in 4.47 but got caught in the congestion at the bridge and it took me 10 minutes to cross it. So my watch time read 4.37.

My friend Sinead running the 10km met me at St Johns Castle and from there blazed a trail home for me at 8.53 m/h - she tore my legs off but was determined to get me in just over 4.30.

The ups and downs and congestion were difficult in the end but Im delighted. It was a tough event and there were problems but Ive done it and Im going to focus on half marathons, triathlons and adventure races from now on ... another box ticked

To my pacers (the Canadian Guy and the Irish Guy) my apologies for not introducing myself at the start but I didnt believe I would manage the pace and was a bit shy ... you guys were fantastic and I owe you one.

To my son, thanks for cycling the route with me my pup! Mom loves you xxx

Im a happy, lucky person.

Thanks for all the folks on boards, and especially to the guys that had constant contact with the RD and all the feedback - your tireless efforts made this a successful event. Well done to you all for your hard work and excellent times.

Happy training for the next one ...

Odette

OdettiSpaghetti · 03-05-2010 03:42PM

Hiya,

Anyone know where we get official times and pics from?

Tkx

Munster_Gal · 03-05-2010 03:58PM

baza1976 wrote: »

Had a good day yesterday.

I had a bad week with been sick the mornign of the marathon I had to force down 2 slices of toast as I didn't feel hungry. I took a banana with me to the marathon and threw it away around the 10k mark I think.

I met HM and was chatting for the first mile(ish) before she told me to go away!!!! lol

Then i caught up with maire c. Sorry about the chatting mc and my spitting!!!! my sinus were full of gunk. I think I lost more fluid form spitting than sweating!!!

Twas very funny at about mile 17/18 the leading car for the half marathon passed me. There was a guy about 10 feet in front of me who looked around and saw me. I laughed and told him that car is not for me

I crusied the first 20/21 miles (2.30ish i think) and then my calfs decided they were not going to work any more BUt I didn't push them, I just slowed down a bit. I treated myself and my calfs at Thomond park hill to a little walk and off again we went.

I got home in 3.39, I'm very happy with that.

It was nice to meet some boardsies and put the face to the name.

It was also very good to see a great day in Limerick. Looking forward to next year already

I actually laughed out load reading your report ha ha! Well done yesterday! Would have been nice if you waved at us while we were shouting at you though :P lol

The Great Limerick Run, 2 May 2010

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